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Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont will travel to Boston, Washington DC, and New York to explain Catalonia’s pro-independence movement. On Monday evening, he will address the Center for European Studies (CES) at the Harvard Kennedy School and give the conference ‘Catalonia, Today and Tomorrow’, his analysis of Catalonia’s current political situation and its place within the EU. Together with Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva and the Delegate of the Catalan Government to the United States, Andrew Davis, Puigdemont will also visit the Cambridge Innovation Centre (CIC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Tecnhnology (MIT) and will take part in a meeting with entrepreneurs. He is also expected to meet with several think tanks throughout the week, including the Wilson Center and the American Enterprise Institute, and will visit the new factory of Catalan company, Europastry.

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, responded angrily to the confirmation from former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo that the Spanish Government had pressured other governments to give statements against Catalonia’s pro-independence process. “It’s unacceptable,” he said and called for Margallo to explain which commitments he made, under whose authority and “what favors Spain owes” in exchange for these position statements. According to Puigdemont, Margallo’s confession proves the Catalan Government’s claims that the Spanish State “is doing everything in its power” so that Catalan representatives “are not received, listened to, or taken into account”. “I hope that the Spanish political system is democratically mature enough to demand an explanation from Mr. Margallo in Parliamentary session,” he added.

Former Catalan President Artur Mas’ right-hand man, Francesc Homs, has been sentenced to a 1 year and 6 months ban from holding public office for allowing a symbolic vote on Catalan independence to take place on November 9, 2014. The magistrates in the Spanish Supreme Court found Homs, who is currently a sitting MP and the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT) spokesperson in the Spanish Parliament, guilty of disobedience but absolved him from charges of perversion of justice. Earlier this month, Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC) also banned Mas from public office for 2 years and fined him €36,000. Former Vice president Joana Ortega and former Education Minister Irene Rigau were banned from holding public office for a period of 1 year and 9 months and 1 year and 6 months. They will have to pay fines of €30,000 and €24,000, respectively.

Former Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García Margallo, admitted that the Spanish Government pressured other governments to give statements against Catalonia’s pro-independence process. “Nobody knows all the favors we owe in exchange for the statements we got,” he said this Wednesday in an interview on Spanish TV. According to Margallo, the normal procedure when a public representative is asked about such a question is to demur, saying it is an “internal matter”.  Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, considered the facts “very serious” and urged the former Minister to give further explanations.

The pro-independence parties in the Catalan Chamber, governing cross-party ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP have passed the 2017 budget. The bill has been described as the last budget of the autonomic period, since it foresees calling a referendum on independence next September. Last June, CUP refused to pass the bill for 2016 which led to the vote of confidence promoted by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont. They considered the numbers presented then to be “too autonomic” rather than responding to the pro-independence aspirations of Catalonia. After a new draft was presented last November, increasing the social expenditure and reinforcing the government’s commitment to call a referendum, CUP have accepted the bill. However, they have urged the Catalan Government to announce the date and the question of the referendum as quick as possible.

DocsBarcelona International Festival celebrates its 20th Edition between May 18th and May 28th. The festival now lasts ten days instead of five, so that this year’s edition can include a record 90 documentaries. One of the most outstanding films is the Catalan-German production ‘Hacking Justice’ which tells the story of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, who fought to prove the innocence of ‘Wikileaks’ founder, Julian Assange. DocsBarcelona received over 500 projects from 65 different countries worldwide, a figure which represents a 14% increase in the number of submissions in comparison to last year, consolidating the festival at an international scale.

Foreign investment in Catalonia throughout 2016 totaled €4.8billion, 1.3% less than in 2015. Indeed, 2015 had set a historic record in terms of foreign investment, registering a 57.8% growth in comparison to the previous year. Despite this slight decrease, 2016 represents the second best year in the historic series, according to data published this Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry for Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. Moreover, Catalonia ranks second in terms of foreign investment in Spain, Accounting for 20% of the investment and only surpassed by Madrid, which attracts 46.7% of foreign capital. Regarding Catalan exports, they totaled €5.3 billion in January, the highest figure for this month since 2000. This data confirms Catalonia as the leading territory in Spain in terms of exports followed by Andalusia, whose exports totaled €2.5 billion.

The sentences regarding the November 9th, 2014 vote on independence, including hefty fines and a ban from public office of the main political leaders responsible, may violate fundamental rights say the lawyers of former Catalan President, Artur Mas, Catalan VP Joana Ortega and former Catalan Minister for Education, Irene Rigau. They have appealed to Catalonia’s Supreme Court (TSJC). Last week, Mas was sentenced to a two-year ban from holding public office and fined €36,500 for allowing the non-binding consultation to take place in 2014. Ortega and Rigau were also banned from taking public office for a period of 1 year and 9 months and 1 year and 6 months and fined €30,000 and €24,000, respectively.

Catalans living abroad will have access to medical care through a new medical card whenever they travel home. Such was the agreement reached this Monday between Catalonia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, the Health Department, the Department for Labour and Social Affairs, and the Department for Culture. This new medical card will be valid for two months and could be extended with proper justification. Those eligible for the card must apply for it and then activate it while in Catalonia, either by calling 061 or going to their corresponding health clinic. The agreement will also allow Catalans living abroad to access services related to the culture and youth services. Catalonia’s Minister for Health, Toni Comín, explained that this agreement covers what the law for universal access to health care will guarantee once it is passed by the Parliament.

‘Let dialogue win, let the ballot boxes decide,’ reas the title of the joint editorial this Sunday in Spain’s principal daily, El País, written by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras. The Catalan leaders lamented Madrid’s “direct opposition” to putting out the ballot boxes and warned Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, that the referendum will take place in 2017 no matter what. “We won’t give up on this right. We will do whatever it takes to allow the Catalans to vote on a referendum this year,” they state. “We are already at the negotiating table. Is anybody else coming?” they asked rhetorically. Puigdemont and Junqueras also invited the Spanish Government to learn from the United Kingdom’s example and praised its attitude towards the Scottish demand to hold a referendum.

Barcelona’s El Prat airport will be connected with two US and two South American cities starting in June 2017 thanks to LEVEL, the new low-cost carrier of International Airlines Group (IAG). The company chose the Catalan capital to introduce its new brand because of its “international touristic appeal” and also because of the connections from Barcelona’s El Prat airport through Vueling, IAG’s CEO Willie Walsh explained. The new carrier will fly from Barcelona to San Francisco and Los Angeles starting at 99 euros and to Buenos Aires, Argentina and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic starting at 149 euros. The flights will use A330-200 planes with crew from Iberia and IAG. More than 250 jobs are expected to be created in Barcelona, according to Walsh who presented the news this Friday morning at a press conference in Catalonia’s capital city of Barcelona.

Former Catalan President, Artur Mas, former Catalan Vice President Joana Ortega and former Catalan Minister for Education, Irene Rigau have received severe fines and have been banned from public office for allowing the 9-N symbolic vote on Catalan independence in 2014. “It’s a matter of regret,” Scottish MEP Alyn Smith, from the Greens/European Free Alliance group told the CNA who lamented Spain “dealing with democracy through the court”. “I find it wrong,” said European Conservatives and Reformists Group MEP Ian Duncan and admitted he was “deeply troubled” by the decision. Co-Chair for the Greens/European Free Alliance, Philippe Lamberts, lamented “the stubbornness of the Spanish authorities toward Catalonia” and insisted that Madrid’s attitude “is making dialogue nearly impossible”.

Barcelona – The Pyrenees-based candidacy to host the 2026 Winter Olympics has been rescinded by its own promoters. According to Barcelona’s deputy mayor, Jordi Collboni, the decision responded “to the current social and economic circumstances not only in Barcelona but in the whole country”. Collboni also emphasized Barcelona’s image as an Olympic city, won in 1992, and rejected any eventual “false move” which might affect its good reputation. “If we submit an application, we want it to be the winning option,” he said and admitted that in order for that to be true the candidacy “must have full political and social support”. The conclusions emerged from the committee responsible for analysing the candidacy, backed by the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’, Left wing pro-independence ERC and the Democratic Group.

An ‘Early Day Motion’ on Catalonia’s right to hold a referendum has been presented this Thursday to the House of Commons. Titled ‘Democracy in Catalonia’ the petition calls on the British Government “to declare its adherence” to the right of “democratically elected parliamentarians to hold a referendum” in accordance with “the needs and wishes of their people”. Moreover, the petition reports that former Catalan President, Artur Mas, former Vice President, Joana Ortega and former Catalan Minister for Education, Irene Rigau have been “levied heavy fines” and banned from public office for allowing the 9-N symbolic vote on independence in 2014.  The signers, SNP MP George Kerevan, Northern Ireland SNDP MP Mark Durkan, and Plaid Cymru’s Hwyel Williams also note that 85% of Catalans, and 83 of the 135 Members of the Parliament of Catalonia support the option to vote democratically on Catalonia's constitutional future”.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) one of the legal bodies responsible for suspending the most initiatives aimed at executing Catalonia’s pro-independence roadmap in the last few years, replaced its president this Wednesday. Francisco Pérez de los Cobos stepped down after nearly four years in office and took the opportunity to call for “political dialogue” . He defended Spain’s unity but admitted that the Spanish Constitution “can’t tackle all the problems derived from the constitutional order, especially those which emerge from the desire of one part of the state to alter its legal status”.  In the presence of the Spanish Minister for Justice, Rafael Català and the four magistrates which took office this Wednesday, Pérez de los Cobos emphasized that dialogue is an “urgent and unavoidable necessity”.